Plus One
by Urethane
Summary: With twelve children in the Loud family instead of eleven, just how much different will things be in a world where the children of the Loud Family have an awesome older brother? The answer? Very much so! !Harem
1. Plus One!

_Hello all. I haven't updated any of my fics in a while. Haven't got much creativity for those stories to do so, and can't be bothered to since I think it's half-assed work, and I don't think you guys don't deserve that kind of work. Believe me, I've tried doing everything to spark creativity._

 _Nothing has worked so far._

 _But I have been playing games and watching shows recently, and one that I've really come to love is_ _ **The Loud House**_ _._

 _It's a kids show that all can enjoy, full of morales and lessons to be learnt at the end of every episode, and the characters are all very likeable, loveable and great. Each has their own unique characteristic and flair, and I just love that show._

 _My favourite characters so far are definitely the older sisters (Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan and Lynn) as well as Lincoln (no matter how many times he manages to mess up). The other characters are equally likeable, but those are just my favourites since they're so great. If you'd like, tell me yours._

 _Well, anyway, this fic was partially inspired by an author, who I'd really like to give a shout out to._

 _Mumei Mu, I truly appreciate you due to the amount of work you put into writing fanfics. English is your third language and to top it all off, you're also deaf, which is doubly impressive in my opinion. Yet, you still try your best come up with creative ideas and interesting differences and twists in 'What a Dramatic Life'._

 _So, to anyone out there who made it this far, if you're not too bothered by not-too-perfect grammar (can't say I've got it) and are interested in a long read, go ahead and give Mu's Naruto and Total Drama Island crossover: 'What a Dramatic Life' a read. Hell, I had never seen TDI (still haven't) but gave that a read. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Who knows? Maybe you might enjoy it like I did too._

 _It's also wise to note that the only other Naruto x Loud House fic was also written by Mu too, much to my surprise. I only realised it after I was done writing half of my own story and checking fanfic if there were any others. There may be some similarities between Mumei Mu's story and mine, but to be honest there really isn't much to work with if Naruto's just an ordinary guy living in the Loud House universe. Just know that Mu's fic came first, and that the story I took inspiration from wasn't their Naruto and Loud House fic, but their Naruto and TDI one._

 _Regardless, without further ado, enjoy a slice of life fic that shouldn't be taken too seriously._

* * *

 _ **Plus One**_

* * *

As the sun ascended up to the sky, it brought along the earliest of mornings with it. The light of day started to pour over the world, ridding it of the darkness night had left.

It didn't take long before the wave of light came into contact with a fairly sized house located at 1216 Franklin Avenue. Appearing quite ordinary on the outside with its black tiled roof, front porch, chimney and garage; it honestly looked no different from the rest of the houses that ran adjacent to it. A large oaken tree sat next to the sidewalk, tangled in its branches was a replica aeroplane that had crashed into it, promptly forgotten by its owner. Items were scattered all around the outside of the house; lying on the freshly-wet grass, waiting to be picked up. They ranged from bicycles, basketballs, roller skates, a skateboard, a makeshift ramp for said skateboard, and a whole assortment of other items belonging to the inhabitants of the seemingly quiet house.

However, everyone who lived in a two mile radius knew better. Things were quiet now, but once they all woke up, that sense of peaceful tranquillity would be shattered.

* * *

Sensing that morning had come, a digital clock that sat silently on a beside table began to beep rapidly, filling up the fairly small room with an irritating cry.

Next to the table was a simple bed with the covers done all the way up and over the pillow. There was a visible lump that stretched from top to bottom, showing that someone was or, since the alarm went off, had been sleeping underneath it.

A hand reached out from under the covers and gently slapped the clock over the head, trying to turn it off. Unfortunately, all it succeeded in doing was knocking it over and causing it to fall off the table. Now instead of beeping, came the sound of plastic crashing against the hardwood flooring, followed by the sounds of the beeping slowly dying off as the clock flatlined.

Yep. Definitely broken.

Upon hearing the clock die, a voice suddenly muttered out from under the covers.

"Damn it."

Now, with the clock unintentionally broken and morning here, the covers were thrown off the person and they rose from the bed into a seated position.

It was a young man, otherwise known as Naruto Loud, currently in the later stages of his teen life and slowly advancing towards adulthood. Wearing a simple white t-shirt and a set of striped boxers, he turned his body to the side and threw his feet off the bed, suppressing a shiver at the feeling of his cold floor.

The first noticeable thing one would first see, even from a distance, was the strikingly yellow spiky hair Naruto possessed, which, even amongst his blond siblings, was brighter than normal.

"Hm…" Naruto blinked slowly, his cerulean eyes weary and slightly bloodshot, but ready to start the day despite it being…

' _What time was it again?'_ He thought to himself, trying to recall. But with a brain that had yet to properly start up, Naruto simply couldn't.

Shrugging, he bent down and picked up the broken clock in order to check the time. Turning it over to face him, he tried to make sense of the numbers he saw, running a hand through his hair and scratching his scalp tiredly.

Well, if the flickering numbers on the cracked screen were to be trusted, it was five in the morning, just like he had set it yesterday night.

"Right… Well, time to freshen up." With that, he placed the broken clock back to where it was, leaving that for another time, and left his room while grabbing a towel that hung from a hook by the door. Closing the door behind him, he set off to the bathroom in order to get himself started for the day.

Affixed to the front of his door was a piece of paper that had been written and drawn on in bright orange ink, acting as a glorified sign. Messily written, but still legible, the words 'Naruto's room' had been written on it by a child of some sort judging by the poor handwriting and drawings surrounding his name.

* * *

The eldest of the children of the Loud family —and arguably the most helpful one of them all— now stood in front of the kitchen stove, his now eyes refined and sharpened, a far cry from what it had been before he took a shower. Now out of his sleep wear and into something just as casual, he grabbed the apron that hung by the fridge and tied it around his waist at a speed that showed he was quite used to doing it.

Glancing up to the top of the fridge, he noted today's date from the calender that had been pinned up with colourful magnets.

It was a Sunday, or the last day of the month to be more precise. It was a day in which he would cook the ramen dish that his family absolutely cherished. It was a tradition that had been happening amongst the Loud House for the past few years, ever since he returned from his part-time job at the nearby ramen stand. It was a personalised recipe that he had come up with after working there for months, one that he and his family absolutely adored.

However on this particular month there was a problem. He simply had not enough ingredients to feed all the mouths in the family. But considering the immense size of their family, which consisted of two boys and ten girls, this was the first time that there **hadn't** been enough food —they actually had enough originally. Some of the ingredients had just spoiled recently— for them all.

And checking the clock on the wall, he had no time to drive to the store and grab extra ingredients since he would be late if he did. And you did not want to see the Loud family reacting to a late dinner.

Thankfully, his parents had decided to opt out of this month's special meal and gave their portions to their children because they had to visit a distant relative who had gotten sick recently. However, even without having to feed another two mouths, the ingredients that were laid out in front of him were still not enough to feed the entirety of his siblings and himself.

His eyes went over the ingredients one more time.

There were a couple of shining white onions, sticks of healthy leeks, bright green scallions, sheets of crispy seaweed, eggs, pork loin, multiple bones of various animals to make the stock and other miscellaneous items here and there. Not forgetting the the final item of course, which was the large blob of dough that sat off to the side, patiently awaiting the time to be turned into gloriously thin, straight noodles that would pair well with his consommé (broth).

Counting what he had on hand, he had the perfect amount to make exactly eleven dishes, a problem when there were twelve of them in total. Even little Lily, who by all means should not be eating any of the salty-broth noodles whatsoever, could stomach an entire bowl —and make it out fine, thank the heavens—.

If he tried to split the ingredients any further to make even more bowls, it would completely change the taste of his signature dish! And Naruto wouldn't disrespect his meal and family like that. That and the fact that his family knew the exact taste of his ramen. Any less and they probably wouldn't settle for it.

With a sigh, he supposed that he too could opt out of tonight's special dinner in favour of giving his own meal to one of his younger siblings. As much as he loved his own creation, his siblings meant more to him that a bowl of replaceable noodles, as tasty as they were.

His bright blue eyes twinkled at the thought of the people he cherished the most in this world and imagining them slurp up his ramen with delight made him break out into an uncontrollable grin. Now filled with a sudden surge of motivation, he grabbed his trusty knife and raised his arm high up into the air.

The brilliant ray of morning sunlight that had been shining through the open window of the kitchen caused his knife to gleam brightly as the honed edge split the beam in half.

Taking a deep breath as his eyes slowly shut, he gently lowered in and his eyes suddenly snapped wide open. Full of focus and determination, he prepared to work.

It was time to cook!

* * *

It was nearly three hours later before Naruto heard most of his siblings start to awaken. That much was obvious from the early morning shouting and yelling from the floor above, arguing over who got to use the bathroom first.

Chuckling to himself at that, he continued to work on his craft. Kneading the ball of dough he had prepared the night prior, he began pulling and stretching it out over the floured table.

It didn't take long before he heard the sounds of someone making their way down the stairs, humming a cheerful tune. There was only one person Naruto knew who had such a sunny disposition so early in the morning.

"Hello, Naruto!" Leni popped her head over his shoulder, her face rather close to his, "Need any help?"

"Wow, you're down early today, Leni." Naruto said with a smile as he turned to face her. To say that his younger sister —or the third oldest of the siblings— was pretty or good-looking just didn't cut it. She was decidedly one of the most beautiful girls at school, judging by the student populace, amongst whom she was also quite popular with. It wasn't just because of her attractiveness, but also due to her big heart and kindness.

"Yeah!" The girl giggled, a large grin on her flawless face. "When I remembered that you were making your special noodles tonight, I got out of bed earlier than normal. Ten whole minutes! Do you need any help?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in a ditzy and cute manner.

"Nah," Naruto smiled at her, "I've got it covered." As much as he appreciated her asking, Naruto did not want her to come anywhere close to the dangerous work station in case she potentially hurt herself. What she had in beauty and kindness, she lacked in smarts. Air headed and rather clumsy, she often ended up hurting herself while trying to help out, something he had learned from years of accepting it.

But it wasn't as if he could say that he was the definition of graceful as he too had accident-prone moments. In fact, he was right behind Leni in terms of clumsiness.

Right before he could turn back to making his noodles, he realised that Leni was staring at him, not saying a word.

"Something on my face, Leni?" He asked, running a hand over his cheeks and chin just in case he did.

"No…" She sighed distractedly, her grin melting into a silly one as she continued to stare right at Naruto, "Just admiring the view…"

Naruto cocked a brow in confusion and glanced behind him. There, the open window of the kitchen showed their street, the morning light painting a beautiful picture as it cast long shadows of the cars, lampposts and houses across the roads.

"Yeah… It sure is beautiful. Guess we don't really see that often since we wake up later in the day." Naruto commented with a smile. While Leni was slightly scatterbrained, she sure had a good eye and could pick out pretty things when she saw one. Maybe that was why she was so good at fashion.

Giving a short shrug, he returned to cooking, unaware of his own denseness. Setting aside the noodles for now and cleaning his hands, he moved on to the next task.

As Naruto continued to cook, with Leni watching from the kitchen table, his siblings came down one by one.

"Mornin', big bro!" The recognisable British accent that came from behind immediately told him of who had just entered the kitchen.

"Top of the mornin', Luna." Naruto replied in another completely different accent, saluting the pixie-haired musician jokingly as she walked on over to him, who bumped her hips into his playfully upon hearing his own accent.

"He-he! Pretty sure that's Irish, bro!" The loudest member of the Loud family said, her voice returning back to normal as she dropped her fake accent.

"Eh. They all kinda sound the same to me." The two shared a laugh together at that, with Naruto ruffling her short brown hair lovingly. The girl ducked after a moment of him messing up her hair, slinking away from his grasp.

"Quit it or you're gonna ruin my rep, Naru!" The girl swatted her hair and arranged it back into place, "Rock stars don't get head rubs!" She said. It might have sounded like she was upset with him, but the large smile on her face displaced her words. Luna didn't think it was possible to get mad at her older brother. Especially since he had been the one to teach her how to play the guitar when she had discovered her true self.

"Alright, alright, rock star." Naruto shooed her away playfully, a smirk growing on his face, "Go get yourself some breakfast. We've got plenty of cereal left." He jabbed his thumb towards Leni, who waved at the two from her spot at the table, a spoonful of cornflakes in her mouth. It seemed as though she had only started to eat despite having been down here with him for a while.

Luna groaned, her accent returning as she whined, "Aw?! Rock stars don't eat cereal!"

"Well, you'll have to eat something, because it's gonna be a long way away from dinner." With that she too headed towards the table, mumbling something about 'cruddy cornflakes' under her breath.

With nothing left to do besides to wait, Naruto simply leaned against the counter-top to greet his siblings as they came down.

Luan came down the stairs with a skip in her step, her ventriloquist dummy, Mr Coconut, in hand.

"Good morning, Mr Naruto!" The puppet waved towards the eldest of the family and started to wave rapidly. His mouth clicked open and close, with Luan's own moving ever so slightly.

"Morning, Mr Coconut. I take it that you're not having breakfast?"

"Why is that?" Mr Coconut asked, with Luan's lips quirking upwards as soon as he was speaking.

Naruto coughed, "Because you seem to already be… _full_." He said in regards to Luan's arm being inside of him.

Luna groaned, rolling her eyes at the bad joke her brother made, while Luan laughed loudly, leaning backwards with her hand on her belly.

Sometimes Luna really wished that Naruto hadn't given Luan that '10,000 Puns, Jokes and Gags' book for her birthday, nor shared the same sense of humour as her. But still, that would be rather hypocritical, which was why she said nothing about the matter.

"Hahahaha! Good one, Naruto!" Wiping away a tear with her finger, the neatly dressed girl calmed herself down with a content sigh before she hugged her brother. Looking up at him, the girl's lips pulled back to show him a pleased smiled, exposing her braces to Naruto. "Can't wait for dinner! _Udon_ know how much you mean to me!"

"Hahaha!" This time it was Naruto's turn to laugh, "That was pretty good! Come up with that recently?" His younger sister released him and skipped towards the fridge.

Luan seemed to puff up a little, her chest sticking out in pride. Luna gritted her teeth together at the sight and simply returned to chowing down on her cereal with slightly more vigour. Leni was completely unaware of Luna's displeasure, far too busy taking multiple selfies with her morning meal, which were getting rather soggy at this point after having been soaked in milk for quite a while.

"Yeah, I came up with it while I was thinking about you...uuur noodles!" Luan had suddenly dragged her word mid-speech before continuing, pretending as if she had not stopped at all. But with that said, she hurried over to the table with her bowl and spoon in hand and started to pour herself breakfast.

Naruto didn't have time to think about what she said as he felt a sudden presence appear behind him. The rest of his siblings jumped in their seats, but Naruto seemed completely fine.

"Hey Lucy," Naruto looked over his shoulder to see the Gothic eight year old standing by his legs, "You look fresh out of the grave."

Lucy looked upwards to Naruto, her black bangs covering her eyes, "Hello, big brother… It is pleasant to see you." She replied in her usual dreary tone. However, there was a small, minute smile tugging at her lips from the compliment. It wasn't much of a smile compared to anyone else, but when it came from Lucy, it really did mean a lot. "Even a being such as I, one without a heart, manages to feel warmth from your words."

"Poetic as usual, Lucy." Naruto patted the pale-skinned girl on her head, sending her forwards gently, "Get some grub. Just because you don't have a heart doesn't mean that you don't have a stomach, right?" The dark and dull girl hummed.

"She shoots…!" A voice suddenly interrupted, and a loud thump came from outside of the kitchen.

The Goth moved out of the way, still walking towards the table, as a football came soaring through the doorway. She was far too used to dodging balls in her room.

With impressive speed, Naruto reached his hand out and snatched it out of the air, just before it could crash into the pot of stock that gently bubbled away at the stove. Naruto released a huge sigh of relief.

It would've been really bad if Lynn had knocked that over. And as such…

"And she sccooores!" The sportiest member of the house stood at the doorway, her hands high up over her head.

"Nice shot, Lynn." Naruto said, causing Lynn to cheer out loud.

She started to get into the kitchen, "Thanks Naru-" Before she could fully cross the room, her head was caught in a vicious vice-grip by her older brother.

"Guh! Ouch! The 'Iron Claw'! No fair!" Lynn grabbed the wrist of the hand that had clamped down on her, trying to free herself. But when you were just a thirteen year old girl going up against an eighteen year old boy, one that had gained a bit of strength from years of sports and exercise, it meant that you were in a losing battle.

"But Lynn…" Naruto lowered himself in order to meet Lynn face to face, a haunting look on his visage as he stared deep into his sister's wide eyes. "Haven't I told you not to kick balls around the kitchen when I'm cooking?"

"Hahaha…" Lynn laughed guilty, having forgotten that particular promise, and the fact that Naruto was cooking his special ramen tonight meant that it was doubly worse since it took a long time to cook it. "My bad? But you'll forgive your favourite sister, won't you?"

"Hey!" Leni stood up, her hands on her hips, "I'm his favourite sister… I think…" The blonde bombshell began to tap her finger against her chin, a look of befuddlement on her face. "Am I?"

Lucy simply sighed, digging into her pudding.

"No, I am!" Mr Coconut interjected, earning a soft clonk on the head from his ventriloquist, "Er, I mean… No, Luan is!"

"Great joke, Luan." Luna snapped her finger at her younger sister, firing an imaginary gun at her. Leaning back into her chair and kicking her feet up onto the table, she threw her arms behind her head lackadaisically and proclaimed confidently to her sisters, "Buuuut I'm Naru's favourite."

"Yeah, uh-huh, that's nice and all…" A new voice interjected, this one belonging to the second oldest in the family, the oldest one of the girls, "But I'm definitely his number one."

"Hey Lori," Naruto waved at his younger sister, ball still in hand, as she entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Naruto." The girl yawned deeply and stretched in front of Naruto, "Can't wait for dinner." She glanced towards the pot and sniffed the air gently, already smelling the stomach-grumbling, mouth-watering broth being cooked. "Ah… Smells good as always."

"Thanks, sis." Naruto then returned his attention to Lynn, who was still trying to escape from his iron claw, a technique he had learned when they were watching wrestling together.

"Come on, Naruto! I'm sorry for kicking the ball in the kitchen, I promise I won't do it again." She begged, a desperate look on her face. If Naruto still wouldn't let up, she would have to resort to the ultimate manoeuvre that would absolutely cripple him.

The Puppy Dog Eyes! Truly, it the ultimate weakness that was capitalised by cute little sisters against their caring older brothers. With that technique, his heart would undoubtedly shatter into a million pieces!

But Lynn didn't fancy using that since it always made her feel weird afterwards.

"Fine." The blond released his grip on her, running his hand through her brown hair, earning a elated smile from her. Then she held her hands out, silently asking for her ball back. Unfortunately for her, Naruto had no intention of returning her ball, "But I'm confiscating this until after breakfast."

"Aw… Fine." Seeing his little sister get upset, Naruto stuck his fist out towards her. Seeing the fist directed towards her, Lynn's eyes lit up and she punched it, bumping fists with him. A mutual grin broke out amongst the two and Lynn quickly jogged off towards the fridge, where Lori was as well, scouring for something other than cereal to eat.

Lisa, the second youngest in the family, entered the kitchen after Lynn, her nose buried in a clipboard that was riddled with Math, scientific theorems and an assortment of other things legible and comprehensible only by Lisa herself.

Despite being the second youngest in the family, at a mere four years old, Lisa's intelligence far surpassed everyone else's. Having won a Nobel Prize for something to do with mustard and ketchup, she had certainly laid claim to being one of the smartest people in their country. It was rude to say, but her lisp also may have made her sound rather nerdy.

Yet, even as smart as she was, she was still treated the same as everyone else by her family members. Such was the ways of the Loud family.

Before she could proceed any further, Naruto gently placed a finger on top of her frizzy head and stopped her in place.

Lifting her nose out from her work, Lisa stared at Naruto before adjusting her glasses. It was a huge piece of plastic with thick lenses that aided the youth in seeing clearly. "Oh, hello big brother. I have simply come down from my room to acquire my daily nutritional requirements, such as-"

"-Good morning to you too, Lisa." Naruto smiled, interrupting her before she could give him the scientific names of every single object she was about to consume. As much as he appreciated her intellect, sometimes it could be a bit overbearing.

With the introductions said and done, Lisa tried to continue on forwards, but was stopped when Naruto held his hand out in front of her to stop.

"Nuh-uh. No chemicals anywhere near food, Lisa. We've talked about this before."

"Surely you trust me, don't you, Naruto?" She asked staring blanking at the her only blond haired brother.

"Yeah, I trust you, but only to use your siblings as guinea pigs." Naruto deadpanned before he turned his hand around and held it out for Lisa. "Now come on. No breakfast until you've got none of your science projects in your pockets."

Lisa sighed as she shoved her hands into her pockets and fished out multiple vials. Shimmering liquids of unnatural colours swirled and shifted within, some fizzed, others bubbled, but all were definitely up to no good. "You know me too well, brother."

"That I do, kiddo." Naruto moved his hand and allowed Lisa to pass, leaving her chemicals at the counter top near the door for her to collect later on.

"Naruto!" Twin voices cried in unison, and Naruto braced himself as two blonde missiles came flying towards him from the stairs. Wrapping his arms around them as they slammed into his chest, he spun around and turned his backwards the carpeted floor of the main hall and crashed like a mighty oak being felled with the two blondes wrapped safely in his arms.

"Ugh… Morning girls…" Naruto mumbled under the blonde twins, his vision filled with stars and two identical twins, who both lacked their front two teeth. "Glad you could join us." Despite being identical twins, it was quite easy to tell them apart since their personalities and outfits were opposites.

"Lana, look what you did to him!" The more feminine twin in the sparkling pink dress and silver tiara frowned at her sister.

The one in the red cap and overalls glared back at her, "That was your fault, Lola!"

"Girls, girls, I'm fine. So stop bickering, will ya?" Naruto grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks and gently lifted them off of him, "Today's a special day, and neither of you want to ruin it by being mad at each other do you?" Naruto knew full well that neither of them could stay mad at each other for more than a few hours. They always managed to get back together and make up by the end of the day. He supposed that it was a twin thing.

"Alright, Naruto." Lana ran off with a hop, "C'mon, Lola, let's get some pudding!"

With that said, the two bounced off in search of pudding, leaving their oldest brother on the ground.

Knocked onto the floor with his head peeking out of kitchen, Naruto saw his the other male sibling coming down the stairs with the only baby of the family in his arms. Lincoln had a strange habit of staring into space and speaking to himself as if he were on television, a habit that only Naruto really seemed to notice.

"-as you can see, even though I'm was the last to use the bathroom, I didn't need to rush like my sisters-" Lincoln paused, mid-speech and step. "Naruto? What are you doing lying on the floor?" The boy with the snow white hair asked, his eyebrow rising as he stopped to stare at his brother. Charles the dog ran up towards the downed blond and began to lap at his face, causing Naruto to laugh from the tickles sent his way by the family dog.

"Hey Linc," Naruto smiled at his younger brother, softly pushing aside the dog and sitting upright, "It was just the twins." Charles quickly rushed back and dove under Naruto's hand, wanting to be pet. Naruto obliged with a small smile.

Lincoln didn't have to hear any more and simply nodded, understanding completely. Lola and Lana were a little crazy when it came to their older brother, being quite protective of him while simultaneous managing to hurt him at the same time.

"Breakfast?" Naruto asked as he stood, brushing himself of the dust he had picked up from the flood. Lincoln nodded and joined his brother, heading into the kitchen together with their tiny dog in tow.

Entering the kitchen, the two watched as their sisters squabbled over something. Yelling, shouting and screaming at each other, the women of the Loud family were fierce and unwilling to let any other besides themselves be the victor. From what they could see, it was mainly the older girls, from Lori to Lynn, arguing.

"What is going on here?" The brothers said in unison, staring at their sisters. Immediately, the noise died down as the girls stopped and stared at Naruto and Lincoln, who were still stood at the doorway.

The silence that followed lingered on for a moment too long to be considered comfortable, but was ultimately broken by Lily, who began laughing and clapping.

"Um, we were just discussing about… Who got to watch TV tonight." Lori said, a tight smile on her face as she looked to her sisters, who nodded furiously.

"Yeah… The TV."

"Mhmm. Good shows on tonight."

"You girls have been fighting on every Sunday night, exactly at eight, for years now. I'm surprised you lot haven't figured a system out yet." He shook his head at them and the girls breathed a sigh of relief as he bought their excuse, walking with Lincoln over to the fridge. If he had known what they were really arguing about…

Despite having woken up early, Naruto had yet to eat breakfast yet. And what better time than to have it now with his family?

Grabbing jam, a few slices of bread and a knife, he skilfully toasted the breads on a skillet, and lathered their perfectly browned and crusted surfaces with grape-flavoured jelly jam. created multiple jam sandwiches and handed them out to whomever wanted it. How Naruto managed to make making sandwiches look good, none of them knew. Lincoln accepted his and sat down on an empty chair, next to his older brother.

"Well, and that's how things normally are in the Loud family." The white haired boy said, glancing towards the camera that only he could see, taking a bite out of his sandwich, humming in delight at the taste, texture and sensation of the perfectly made sandwich. "My sisters are noisy, my brother is pretty cool and I'm stuck in the middle of it all. Still, can't say that I would want to change anything, or trade any of them for anything in the world." His attention was turned back towards his family, who were now in the midst of discussing about the latest horror movie they had watched, and which was the scariest.

* * *

Day came and left, the sun taking the bright blue skies along with it to the other side of the world while the moon rose, bringing along night.

The Loud Family had come and gone, and it being a Sunday meant that none of them had school. So they each did their own things, some leaving for their own personal events before returning home at the crack of evening, while others simply locked themselves in their rooms and did whatever they pleased.

And with night, came proof of the hard work and toil Naruto had put into creating the famed dish in the Loud household.

In the nearby pot sat the slow-cooking, mouthwatering broth that had now finally reached perfection. It's flavour balanced perfectly on the scale of saltiness and had a tinge of sweetness behind it. The ingredients that would soon be the toppings had been placed to one side, already cut and arranged. And the final product of the large ball of dough from earlier on in the morning was now a large batch of springy noodles, which had been pulled and kneaded for hours before being turned into ropes of gold for the mouth.

Even the warm air of the kitchen was permeated with the heavenly scent of the broth, and just a single sniff could make anyone's tummy rumble in hunger.

Which was why Naruto was in agony. Unable to eat his beloved meal, and being teased by it from having to taste test it every so often, the boy felt a bit of him die inside. Truly, if there was a special hell for him this was it. Still, thinking about the looks on his siblings faces as they ate the meal left him beaming wildly, forgetting about his troubles and allowing him to push forwards. Wiping away beads of sweat that had formed on his brow, Naruto noted that was just a while more before he could serve dinner.

Soon, the clock struck eight and Naruto peered his head out of the kitchen's door way, half-expecting his sisters to already be fighting over the television remote, arguing about who got to watch their own programme.

Much to his surprise, he saw the couch completely empty.

"Huh, I guess they made up." Naruto was rather surprised. For the first time in a long time, the living room wasn't torn apart in a large, free-for-all cat fight. "Maybe tonight will just be an ordinary night." That was a little hard to comprehend. Nights at the Loud house were never quiet, or at least until everyone was asleep.

As soon as he was done thinking about it, the power to the house went out.

Naruto sighed and palmed his face. It was just his luck.

Glancing behind him at the stove, Naruto quickly turned off the gas, and thus the flame. Then gently lifted the heavy pot of hot consommé off the stove with a grunt. Slowly walking in the darkness with his pot in hands, he managed to locate the counter top and placed it onto it. Safety was very important, and when it came to things that could hurt his siblings, Naruto knew better and took extra precautionary steps to prevent any injuries from happening.

Pot of stock now stored safely, Naruto wandered out of the kitchen and into the main hall, where he heard his siblings putting up a fuss on the second floor at the sudden blackout while Lori tried to calm everyone down.

Naruto shrugged and started to make his way down to the basement in order to get the power back on.

Meanwhile, upstairs…

* * *

"Okay, so how about we get that power back on?" Lincoln asked rather hurriedly, wanting to watch his show.

"Hey," Lori stopped him, "When mom and dad are out, I'm in charge. So first," She glanced around at her siblings, able to see due to the glowing green light that radiated from every inch of Luan. Luan was glowing green like a glowstick, the product of absently consuming food given to her by Lisa, a thing that all Louds should approach with a great deal of caution. Still, it worked in their advantage, as it provided the scared residents some visibility in the dark. "We need to make a headcount to make sure we're all here."

"One-two-three…" Lincoln began to count at fast pace, "…nine-ten. And me, that's eleven. Naruto's probably still downstairs. That's twelve. So that's all of us. We're all here and accounted for."

"You forgot me."

Lincoln took to the air and crashed into the floor following Lucy's words. The Goth had been behind Lincoln the entire time, blending into the darkness due to her choice in hair and clothing.

"Can I go flip the circuit breaker now and get the lights back on before Lucy gives me a heart attack?" He begged Lori as soon as he got up, pointing a finger at his creepy little sister.

"Again, _in charge_. I'll do it." Then she raised an eyebrow at her little brother, "Where is this circuit breaker thingy?"

"In the basement." Lincoln said.

* * *

Lori stood at the entrance of the basement, her hands held together in a slight bit of fear and her face hesitant. Absolute darkness greeted her from beyond the door, the pitch black terror playing tricks on her mind. Unknown monstrosities that her mind had made up were hiding in the dark, waiting for her to take a few steps into the basement before they would grab and take her away.

If there was ever a time to appreciate the sun, it was now! Well, that and tanning, but that was besides the point now!

"Why am I the one who has to do this?" She asked, already dreading the prospect of stepping into the abyss they called their basement.

"Because you're in charge!" Her sisters and younger brother said simultaneously in frustrated voices.

"Alright! Alright… Come on, Luan," Lori said, as Luan gave her a glowing smile, "Light the way."

"That's the brightest idea you've had all day." She laughed as she was pulled by the hand, following behind Lori. But before they could step into the darkness, the Luan's glow faded and she returned back to normal.

The family gasped.

"Ooh! I though I was staying in tonight, but I guess I'm going out!" She laughed again as her family groaned, both at the joke and at the lack of light.

"Lisa, do you have another one of those cookies?" Lori asked, before she added in, "We won't tell."

"Negative. That was the only one." Lisa said, recognisable in the darkness due to her audible speech impediment. "Prototype."

"Just great." Lori deflated. As if to punctuate her sentence, something from the basement gave a metallic groan. The echoes carried the scary noise up the stairs and out of the door, freaking Lori out.

Dashing away from the door and behind her siblings, Lori's pretty face was twisted with uncertainty and fear.

"There's something in the basement. I'm not going down there."

"Ooh!" Lynn pointed a finger at Lori, a teasing grin playing at her freckled face, "You're scared of the dark!"

"I am not!" Lori denied, placing her hands on her hips, "You're the one who's scared."

"I'm not afraid of anything." Lynn shot back, only to yelp in terror as Lucy gave a small 'Boo' into her ear.

Triggering a chain event, they began to squabble again, this time causing Lana and Lola's eyes to water and their lips quiver in fear.

"There's a ghost in the basement! Waaahh!" They began to cry loudly, their cries joining together with their older sisters loud exchange.

* * *

"What is going on up there?" Naruto asked with a wince, rubbing the spot on his forehead where he had bumped into the giant furnace.

* * *

"Okay, quiet!" Lincoln silenced his sisters, before kneeling down and holding his arms out for the two crying twins. "Come here you two. It's okay, because there's nothing to be afraid of. Your big brother will protect you. In fact," Lincoln stood tall and strong, gaining courage in order to solve this problem, and subsequently to make sure he could watch his show and that his sisters didn't start bickering again. "I will protect all of you!"

* * *

Naruto fumbled around in the dark before he heard the familiar cry of Lincoln, and the sound of hard thumping, progressively getting louder and closer. It was finally concluded with one final thump, of which was far louder than the rest.

"Ow." The boy groaned, his 'night-vision' eyepiece having provided no help to him for seeing in the dark.

"Linc-Urk?!" Naruto stood up and banged his head against another pipe, sending the blond backwards into a heap of clothings, out cold. The metal clang reverberated throughout the basement and turned ominous. Frightened by this, Lincoln screamed and dashed back up the stairs, far faster than he had fallen.

* * *

A minute later, the children of the Loud family had banded together —sans Naruto, for obvious reasons— and had gone down with Lincoln in front, holding onto Luan's camera, which fortunately had the function of actual night vision, and thus allowed them to traverse the darkest part of their home.

"We may want to stay close." Lincoln said, walking a short distance in front of his sisters, who were all clumped up together behind him. "There's no telling what could be lurking down here in the dark."

"There's nothing funny about being in this situation," Luan commented, "Although I do like dark humour."

"Is someone touching my hand? Leni asked frightfully.

"Are you touching your own hand?" Lynn replied, equally afraid.

"I hate basements." As if offended by this, the basement responded in the form of a low, ghoulish moan, "Ah! What's that moaning?!"

"Don't freak out!" Lincoln moved the camera and directed it towards the ceiling, where the sound had come from. "It was just the pipe settling."

"What's that scratching?!" Leni asked, "And that smell?!"

"It's just Cliff, the cat!" Then Lincoln moved the camera towards Luna, who was carrying an elated Lily, "And that's just Lily with a full diaper." The Loud siblings sighed and felt relieved at the lack of monsters in the basement. "See guys, I told you, there's nothing to be afraid of." Then he gasped in shock, causing his sisters to recoil.

"What is it?!"

From the shadows, a figure that was larger than the rose off of the floor. Groaning and moaning, it clutched at its head, "Buuhhhh… Braaaaaainnn…" The figure slowly stumbled over to the crowd of teens and children, and they all screamed at the top of their lungs.

"It's a zombie and it wants to eat our brains!" Lincoln cried out loud before the entire basement was sent into disarray. The girls were now spread out, running around in the dark and trying not to get caught for the sake of their brains. Lincoln, on the other hand, pulled himself together and raised his fists. "I'll save you sisters! Ahhh!" With a strangled cry, Lincoln leaped towards the zombie and threw himself at it.

Right as he was about to make contact, there was the sound of a switch being flipped and the lights were back on. Now with vision, the white haired boy was very much aware of what, or who, he was really slamming into. Nonetheless, it was far to late to stop what was already in motion.

Lincoln slammed into his elder brother and the two were sent towards the floor. Had Naruto not given himself two bumps on the head, a concussion, and very blurry vision, perhaps he would have been able to dodge his brother's tackle with finesse. However, as it was now, he was in no state to do so and as such, was lifted off of his feet, doubled over the shoulder and out of breath due to his little brother, who had speared him right in the gut.

The back of Naruto's head was introduced to the floor hard. With a cringe-worthy crack, the lights in his eyes slowly dimmed and rolled to the back of his head as everything turned dark.

The last thing he could see was the guilty face of Lincoln and the darkened shapes that were his sisters surrounding him, their cries slowly fading away as if he were sinking in water.

* * *

Cold and wet was the sensation Naruto felt on his head when he came to. That and the familiar sensation of the couch he was currently lying on. That couch had been a part of their family for far too long, enough so that Naruto would be able to tell what it was just by getting a good feel of it. The long blue couch that could fit all ten of them —not all on the seats— was slightly scratchy and worn out in some places.

"Whu… What happened?" He asked himself in a low voice, trying to recall through the pain at the back of his skull.

"Naruto?" He heard Lincoln's voice close by, "You're awake! Are you alright?"

"I… I think so…" Naruto grumbled, covering his eyes as his head throbbed, "My head hurts a lot though."

"Yeah… about that…" Lincoln sounded very ashamed, and Naruto could picture him rubbing the back of his head, a trait his brother had picked up from him, like he always did when he got in trouble.

"Let me guess… You tackled me and knocked me out, didn't you?"

"How'd you know?" Lincoln asked, his voice bewildered.

"Lucky guess." Naruto said with a bit of sarcasm lacing his tone. A small smirk sprouted on his face, finding amusement in the situation.

"Sorry about that. I thought you were a zombie in the dark."

"Well, it's not like I can really blame you. I must have been moaning and groaning a lot, huh? After all, I did knock myself out once shortly before you did."

"Seriously?" Lincoln tried to hide his snort lest he offend his brother, slapping his mouth shut after he accidentally let it escape his sealed lips.

"Yep." Naruto chuckled before wincing in pain, "Ow… Pretty embarrassing stuff, but ya know… It's always good to laugh with others, right?" Hearing that, Lincoln decided not to hold it back any longer and allowed his laugh to roll right out of his gut and throat, an action that Naruto made as well.

"You're not mad?"

Naruto managed to crack a grin, despite being very tired and in quite a deal of pain, "Why would I be? You're my little brother. I can't stay mad at you for long. Not only that, you got your sisters together and even fearlessly leaped into the face of danger to protect them." Naruto's reasoning managed to make Lincoln's face flush red with pride and embarrassment.

"Well… I knew that you would have done the same too."

"Thanks, bud." Then before they could continue talking, Naruto's stomach rumbled, hungry for food, and so did Lincoln's. "What time is it?"

"It's 8:20… We missed our shows."

Cracking an eye open, Naruto stared at Lincoln seriously.

"You haven't had dinner yet?" Naruto asked, surprised by his brother's hungry stomach.

"Nope." The boy shook his head, "None of us have. They're still in the kitchen, waiting for you to wake up."

"Well, best not to keep them waiting right?" Slowly standing with the help of Lincoln, Naruto walked over towards the kitchen with one hand holding onto the icepack on his head, his other around and over his younger brother's shoulder, who supported him all the way.

* * *

"Should we check on Naruto? It's been a while, right?" Leni asked, "What if he doesn't make it?" The girls stood and sat around the kitchen, waiting for Naruto to awaken. They couldn't start dinner without him, especially since he had spent all day cooking it for their sake.

"It's not brain surgery, Leni," Lori rolled her eyes at her sister's thoughts, "It's a concussion. Besides, Naruto's been hit worse than that." Years of accidents involving Naruto and various sports had come to mind, some far worse than this. That one time he had fractured his leg playing basket ball, or the other time he had been hospitalised after taking a wooden bat to the ribs after the batter missed and slipped while swinging.

"Aren't you worried about him at all?" Lynn asked with her chin propped up against the backrest of a wooden chair, frowning at her older sister. To say that she wasn't worried at all when it came to her older brother was simply insulting her. She had been caring for Naruto long before her little jock of a sister was even born!

Before Lori could respond back snappily, Naruto and Lincoln came through the door way. From his face alone, the blond brother looked beaten and worse for wear, but fine and alive.

"Naruto!" The nine sisters were about to leap onto him, but they suddenly remembered that Naruto had just got up and was still recovering from his concussion, and thus stopped before they could take off. Instead, they hurried over to him and embraced him as softly as they could, while still trying to show their joy at seeing him safe and sound.

"Hey girls," Naruto closed his eyes and smiled, trying his best to hug all his sisters with his arm, "Did you miss me?"

"Did I!" Lynn and Luna cried simultaneously, while Luan smiled, already thinking of a joke.

"You know who didn't miss you?" The girl gave Naruto a brace filled smile. "Lincoln!"

For the first time, the sisters found one of Luan's jokes to be funny. "Hahahahaha!" They all erupted into laughter, remembering how 'heroic' he had been at taking down the 'zombie'.

Lincoln's cheeks heated up again, but this time they were burning out of shame.

Naruto had to admit that one was rather good, but stopped himself from laughing as loud as his sisters were. Instead, he chuckled lightly, pulling the arm still wrapped around his brother closer to him.

"Alright, alright." Naruto began as soon as he was done, "Make fun of him all you will, but at least he was brave enough to fight a zombie for you girls."

Almost abruptly, the laughter stopped and they looked a bit surprised, not having thought about that at all. Then, they felt a little bit bad for having made fun of him. After all, besides Lori being the one who turned the power back on, Lincoln was the one who had tried to save them while they ran around in the dark like a bunch of headless chickens.

"That is true…"

"You're right, Naru… Sorry, Linc."

"Yeah, we shouldn't have laughed at you."

"I appreciate it. But I would have preferred it if you hadn't." Lucy sighed. Even if it hadn't actually been a real zombie, she would still have liked to have experienced that moment just a bit more.

One by one, the girls offered their apologies, with Lincoln dismissing every single one. And soon, things were back to normal.

"Alright," Naruto asked, a smile playing on his face, "Is anyone ready for dinner?"

"Goo-goo!" Lily's elated cry came from somewhere.

"Aw, even Lily's excited to-" Lincoln was cut off as there was the sound of something heavy crashing into the sink and water gushing rapidly.

Turning around, the Loud family saw Lily sitting on the edge of the counter, having somehow managed to topple the pot of steaming broth into the sink.

"LILY!" They all screamed, running towards the relatively unharmed baby.

Being the first one there, Lynn lifted Lily up and quickly inspected her for any burns. Lily seemed completely fine, clapping her hands happily as she was lifted up into the air.

"Ga-ga!"

The siblings sighed in relief, relaxing now that they knew Lily was fine.

Lana stood at the edge of the sink, on the counter top, peering at the overturned pot. "Um, Naruto?" The blond turned to look at his little sister, who was up on the sink, "Your ramen water is going down the drain."

" _ **?!"**_

The Loud family looked over to the sink and saw that the pot of broth had been completely emptied out into the sink, and three quarters of it had already gone down the drain.

Standing at the sink as he lifted the pot up, Naruto watched as the last of the clear soup drained away, forming a small little whirlpool in the centre of the sink before clearing away. Some part of him hurt quite a bit seeing all his hard work go down the drain. They still had the noodles and toppings, but without the broth, ramen was nothing.

"Well… There goes my whole day…" Naruto mumbled, his headache rising again, "And your dinners. Sorry guys, I know you were really anticipating that dinner."

"Don't apologise to us, Naruto." Lori said, feeling bad for her older brother after seeing the downcast look in his eyes. "You spent all day working on that, and you weren't even going to eat it!"

"How'd you figure that out?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide. He had intentionally tried to hide the fact that there wasn't going to be enough for them all, and that he wasn't going to eat any because he knew how crazy his sisters would get.

"Woman's intuition." The rest of his sister's nodded, surprising him greatly. Women and girls were scary like that.

"I'm just glad that Lily didn't get hurt." If she had burned or scalded herself and got scarred from what he did, Naruto didn't think that he would ever be able to sleep well ever again or forgive himself. Naruto rubbed the top of the baby's head, causing Lily to squeal with joy. Her laughter caused the Loud family to smile too, each one happy that everyone was fine and unhurt.

"I don't wanna be rude…" Lynn started, looking around at her siblings, "But what are we gonna do for dinner?" Silence fell onto the children of the Loud family as each one thought about it. It was pretty late at night, and most of the places they would normally go to for dinner were too far out or closed already.

So where was a place that was both nearby, was open 24/7, and had cheap but delicious food?

Naruto blinked before he lifted his head up towards his brother and sisters, his eyes returning to their usual dazzling state. While they had often wandered about it, not a single one of them ever decided to bring up the fact that Naruto had bright blue eyes instead of black ones. They simply chalked it up to inheriting it from their great grandparents, whom they had never gotten a chance to meet.

 _"Burpin' Burgers?"_ Naruto asked his siblings with a bright smile, as if already anticipating their answers.

They looked around at each other for a brief moment before looking back at Naruto, nodding furiously.

 _"Burpin' Burgers."_

* * *

Ten minutes later and on the way back from Burpin' Burgers, each of the Loud house children had a burger, fries and a drink in hand. Save for Lori, who was driving the van since Naruto was out of commission. Instead, she had an amused Naruto riding shotgun, feeding her fries, and occasionally a sip of her drink, as she drove them all home.

Sitting behind the two, Luna, Luan and Lynn scowled at the sight, quietly munching on their dinners. It wasn't as if they could complain much since Lori was the one driving, but that smug look she had shot them with the rear-view mirror as Naruto fed her —and even dabbed her mouth clean with a napkin upon request!— made the trio increasingly annoyed. Eventually, they had given up on glaring at Lori from the mirror and began talking amongst themselves, chatting about inconsequential things while Luan cracked jokes every now and again.

Leni, unaware that her siblings had been locked in a silent showdown, was busy playing with Lily, who was between her and Lincoln.

"While the Loud family may cause trouble for each other, when it all comes down to it, we've always got each other's backs. No Loud left behind!" Lincoln said, glancing towards the camera, "Although I do feel like we're missing something…"

"Hey, you're right…" Lori frowned from the front of the van, "I get that feeling too."

"Really? Me too! All the time!" Leni piped up from the third row, glad that she wasn't the only one.

"You guys forgot Lucy." Naruto said as he took a sip of his drink, "She got off at Burpin' Burgers and went to the toilet."

Lynn jumped onto her seat and looked over to the back rows, trying to locate her little sister and roomie. After a few seconds, results of searching for a the only black haired person in their family returned empty. "Oh my god! We did! We left Lucy behind!"

"Turn the car around and go back for her!"

"How can we turn the car if we're in it?!" Leni screamed, panicking at the prospect of losing her sister.

"I'm just kidding, guys. Lucy's in the trunk. She came back before we left. Didn't think any of you noticed though." Naruto chuckled at the joke that had nearly scared his family to death. Leaving a Gothic eight year old with a penchant for dark things behind at a fast-food joint in the middle of the night was something they would definitely panic about.

"Naruto!" Lori chided her brother, punching him in the arm for nearly scaring them to half to death, earning a pained cry from him.

"What? She agreed that it would have been funny!"

"It's true." Lucy popped her head out from the darkest part of the van, "I managed to see your souls, as brief as it was, thanks to Naruto's help."

Lincoln slumped back into his chair and looked back towards the camera, "Remember what I said about having each other's backs? No one does it better than Naruto. If any one of us has a problem, he would never turn us down willingly." The teen took a bite out of his burger, crumbs falling all over his orange tee. "But seriously though, I have no idea how he keeps track of Lucy. How does he do it? It's a bigger mystery than how Lucy keeps managing to vanish!"

The van prattled loudly on the way home, down the dark and deserted road. A smaller family would've felt unnerved by it, but when it came to the Louds, from their numbers and how tightly knit they were together, things were never lonely.

And on that note, the entire car began to fill with the sound of singing, the jingle of Burpin' Burgers being sung repeatedly by the twelve siblings as they headed on back home.

* * *

 _And that's that. Tell me how you felt about it. Did you like it, or hate it?_

 _Again, try not to rag too hard on this particular fic. I've never done slice of life fics before, so this should be new and fun!_

 _Also, I've been working on another fic as well, this time a Naruto x Dishonored fic in celebration of Dishonored 2. Ooh! I can't wait to play as Corvo again, and grown up Emily!_

 _Anyway, it may just be a oneshot, or it may be a bit longer depending on how it goes, but fingers crossed that I'll upload it!_


	2. Midnight

_Just like to clear up a few not so important things before we move on._

 _-Naruto is not a Jinchuuriki or a shinobi. He does not hail from the universe of 'Naruto', but from the one in 'The Loud House'._

 _-The harem will consist of quite a large number of girls (but nothing too ridiculous), so if you don't fancy that, that's a shame. I'm sure you can figure out who they are. I know that sounds like it's a lot, and it's not my fault the girls are so damn loveable, but I plan on bridging that gap slowly. This may be subjected to change in future chapters, so give me your opinions. (I am unsure if there will be other females involved or not)_

 _-Not every chapter will be very long or based off an episode. There will be original stuff here and there to cultivate connections between characters._

 _I've been busy with different ideas and exams (regarding my diploma) recently, and I've managed to write what I can and like. I actually wrote twelve different variants of this chapter, originally using 'Heavy Meddle' as the plotline for this chapter, but I changed it after days of thinking. Heavy Meddle will be coming up soon, more than likely the next chapter, but don't keep your fingers crossed._

 _Anywho, on to the chapter!_

 _Start!_

* * *

The night was still, and the children of the Loud family had gone to bed not too long after the late night supper they had from Burpin' Burgers.

Deep in sleep, Naruto lay in his bed. Bedsheets down to his ankles, it revealed his nightwear which consisted of a plain-tee he had haphazardly picked out from the rickety white closet that sat next to his bed and a set of boxers that had been imprinted with toads. Snoring softly, he appeared to be very much unaware of the world around him.

There was also the addition of bandages around his head, which had been put on by Luna and Luan after they had returned home. The two were in industries that came with a bit of injury, with Luan suffering from the physical humour she applied to herself during clowning such as slipping and falling on purpose. Meanwhile Luna had her moments practising her stage dives with no one around to catch her or cutting her fingers while shredding furiously on her guitar.

Needless to say, the two who were very fond of their older brother did not mind in the least to take care of his bumps and contusions. In fact, they even put on doctor's coats as they patched him up in order to make him smile, which they had succeeded in. Luan even put on a silly, very out of place, clown nose for added effect, which had succeeded judging by the burst of laughter she had gotten out of him.

Although not one to enjoy being pampered, Naruto didn't exactly mind being taken care of by his little sisters, who were cracking jokes as they bandaged his head up. After all, sisters or not, what was there to hate from having two pretty doctors tending to your injuries?

But the concussion he had sustained earlier on in the night had left him wanting sleep, and such, he had thanked his sisters before stumbling to his room for a change of clothes and a good night's rest.

So imagine his surprise when he awoke in the middle of the night in a stupor to the feeling of cold, clammy, lifeless hands caressing his cheek as if he were haunted by a past lover.

"Buh?!" The boy half-cried, half-mumbled, as he sat upwards. Although dazed and his vision blurred from the sudden awakening, he managed to make out the silhouette of something sitting at the foot of the bed suspiciously in the shape of…

"…Lucy?"

There, clad in the shadows of night, she was sitting cross-legged in front of him, wearing a white shirt and striped pants that were similar to her arm and knee socks. The sliver of moonlight that slipped into his room thankfully provided him with just enough light to see her.

"Hello, Naruto. Bad dreams?" Lucy asked about his sudden awakening as she watched her brother sleep from the shadows.

"Um… Yeah, yeah. S-Something like that…" He then yawned, "Uuuuhh… It's so late… What're you doing in my room, Luce?" Naruto asked while smacking his dry lips together, squinting heavily at his little sister who still continued to sit on his bed.

Lucy kept silent for a moment before looking downwards, trying to hide her face in the dark. "I couldn't sleep… because I was worried for you. You didn't look very good when we were getting back. And I've been here for… a while." Lucy had glanced to Naruto's night stand but was unable to make out the distorted flashing numbers that blinked away at the cracked screen.

Naruto ignored the faint throbbing that had begun to work at the back of his head and chose to focus on his sister instead. "Awww… Thanks, Lucy. I'm happy that you care."

It honestly made his heart soar to know that she was still worried for him, going as far as to stay up late at night just to watch over and ensure that he was okay.

Adjusting himself, Naruto propped himself up with his arm behind his back and sat a little straighter. From what little the blond could see, there was a large opened, black book currently in her lap which she seemed to have been reading before he interrupted her by waking up.

"Are you… reading?" Naruto asked. Not that Lucy could see, but he had a brow raised in curiosity.

"Yes," Lucy replied simply, shutting her book quietly. "I was."

"And… you could see?"

"Well… no." She said with a sigh of longing.

Naruto had to bite down a grin as well as a snicker at how adorable she sounded saying that. Sometimes Lucy could be unintentionally cute. A direct contrast as to what she painted herself out to be.

"But I'm working on my night vision."

"A genuine creature of the night. I see that you're going to be plenty prepared for when you turn into a vampire. As expected of my favourite Goth." Naruto shifted his pillow and himself to the end of the bed, pressing his back up against the headboard, and patted the empty space where he had once occupied. "C'mere, you look like you're about to fall off any moment."

Lucy gently put her book on the ground and obliged, hopping onto the bed and landing without even disturbing the spring-filled mattress as if she were weightless. Without ruffling the sheets or making any sound whatsoever, she walked over to Naruto and sat down next to him, leaning her head up against his arm and shoulder as she did.

It was uncommon for Lucy to openly show physical affection to just about anyone, even for her parents, but she never hesitated when it came to Naruto. As a Goth, it was naturally expected to be made fun of, even if it was a little, by others. Even her sisters and Lincoln occasionally did, commenting on her depressing aura and unusual interests. But her oldest brother never poked fun at her choice of lifestyle or her 'creepy vibes', never forgot about her and always encouraged her to be what _she_ wanted to be. Though she did cherish and care for her family equally, it was hard for her not to admit that she might have been more biased and favoured Naruto to the rest of her siblings.

"Hey, Lucy, I've got a question to ask." Naruto felt her tilt her head slightly. Now shrouded in the dark, Naruto was unable to see, but could easily tell that Lucy was looking up at him.

"You were sitting there the whole time, right?"

He felt her nod against his arm.

"Huh…" Naruto said, slumping slightly as he thought about it, "Because I could have sworn that someone touched my cheek earlier on." There was a touch of confusion in his voice, and Lucy thought about it for a moment.

"Perhaps it was just your imagination," Lucy said lackadaisically before she offered Naruto another creepier alternative, knowing that he wouldn't be disturbed by it unlike her sisters and Lincoln. "Or perhaps it was a ghost, the spectre of the old tenant who lived here long before we did, his or her spirit trapped in this very room." At that, the darkness of the room seemed morphed and shapes of all kinds started to appear out of thin air. Realising that his eyes were playing tricks on him, Naruto gave his eyes a quick rub, and just like that - they vanished.

He frowned a little at that.

Not the biggest supernatural believer in the family, the blond couldn't exactly say that he believed in ghosts and the paranormal, but he always kept an open mind to pretty much everything. And it wasn't like there was definitive proof of him being haunted, but the touch had spooked him a little. Nothing to lose, why would he turn Lucy's counsel away?

"A ghost? Haunting me? I can't say that I'm that fond of that idea." Naruto made a small grimace at the idea of a ghost haunting him, or more importantly, a ghost invading his personal space. How many times had he stripped down in the comfort of his own room to change clothes, only for there to be a ghost silently watching him? He didn't know. If there really was a ghost haunting his room Naruto didn't enjoy his privacy being breached.

Then again, better him then the rest of his siblings. Any higher power knew that someone like Lori or Leni or even Lynn would freak out at the idea of a ghost haunting their rooms. Lincoln was most likely the safest since Naruto highly doubted that a ghost would haunt what used to be a closet.

It also did irk him, if only a little _—read: a lot—_ , if some damned ghost started spying on his little sisters in their rooms.

"I wonder if there's any way to get rid of it," Naruto mumbled as he stroked the top of Lucy's hair as if she were a pet kitten. Lucy began to rumble slightly. She enjoyed the warm hand combing through her black locks and showed it vocally. "I'm not too keen on sharing my room with someone who already had their turn in it."

At that, Lucy suddenly sat a little straighter and Naruto moved the hand atop of her head aside, allowing her to shift herself forwards and away from him.

"Should we do a seance?" Naruto didn't miss the slight excitement in Lucy's voice, nor the eagerness she was silently exuding from her petite body; mostly due to the fact that he was not feeling very confident in himself to stay calm talking to a ghost. "I've been reading up and practising my abilities to communicate with the dead."

"Do we really need to speak to it?" The blond squirmed in his skin, face curling at the thought of speaking to a ghost.

"I suppose we don't have to _speak_ to it." Lucy said with a slight shrug, "Would you prefer playing a song and singing to it? It's been a while since I've heard you do either."

"Hah… I don't think everyone would appreciate me making noise in the middle of the night in order to speak to a ghost." Naruto said in regards to the rest of their family.

"Then stay here, I'll go to my room and get my candles and Ouija board."

Before Naruto could approve of this, Lucy was already on her feet, about to leave the room.

"Whoa! Hold up, Lucy." Naruto grabbed the corner of her shirt and lightly held his sister back, who already had one foot prepared to get down. "How about we skip the candles and the board just… I'unno, speak to this ghost as it is." Naruto wasn't sure which was worse. An unseen force guiding their hands to speak to them or having light in the room and potentially seeing a ghost.

"Alright." Lucy settled back down, nestling herself in a seated position in front of Naruto, "Give me your hands." Naruto did as he was told, holding out his hands which dwarfed Lucy's ones. Softly, the little girl entwined her fingers with Naruto's and pressed their palms together.

Lucy's lips cracked into a smile at clasping hands with her big brother and the unseen black eyes underneath the curtain of bangs twinkled excitedly, a particularly rare, but not absent, emotion.

"Let's begin."

* * *

The two had ended up drifting off into dreamland together a half-hour after holding hands.

Naruto had ended up falling to the side of the bed in a seemingly uncomfortable position but had his arms wrapped around the tiny figure of Lucy who slumbered quietly with her brother. Curled up in Naruto's embrace, she had her forehead up against his rather steely chest and used his arm as a pillow. It hadn't taken her long to fall asleep since she had the help of her brother's warmth acting as a lovely blanket.

Knowing that her older brother was fine after all, Lucy was able to sleep soundly.

Such was the sight their parents came across when they checked on their son again the morning after. News of his injury had been sent from Lori via text last night, and after returning from their trip they had paid a visit to his room in order to check up on his condition, just ten minutes before Lucy had entered.

With the door opened just slightly, the parents of the Loud family stood by the doorway to their eldest son's room and watched Naruto sleep with Lucy in his arms like she was a stuffed toy.

"Awww… Don't they just look adorable, Lynn?" Rita Loud cooed adoringly at the two sleeping children who were snuggled together in a sweet heap.

"Yes, they do, Rita." The patriarch of the family had a beaming grin on his face at seeing how the two slept together like a bear and his cub. Throwing an arm around his wife's waist, the man beckoned away from the room with his head, "Come on, let's give them a bit more time to rest."

Lynn shut the door and left with his wife in arm, allowing the two to continue with their sleep.

And yes — they were very much aware of the tiny smile Lucy had on her face.

* * *

Chapter End

* * *

 _Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! It's a little short, I know, but I don't intend to write 10k chapters like the first one or the ones I do for my other stories, mainly because some of the word count comes from the script of the show. I know this isn't one of the most popular stories around, but I honestly love writing for this fic when I have inspiration for it._

 _And is there really a ghost haunting the home of the Loud family? Or is this just a one-off thing? Who knows?_


	3. Midnight: Part 2

_Hey, it's been a while, huh?_

 _I don't really have much of an excuse for why I've been gone save for just hating what I've written. If you do care, I've left my piece at the bottom, and if you don't — well the story's right ahead!_

 _It isn't much, but I do hope you forgive me and enjoy!_

* * *

Naruto groaned as he stirred in bed, his head aching but slightly better than the day before. The blinds were still closed and even without the use of his still broken clock, Naruto was well aware that it was somewhere near the crack of dawn.

When he was still working part-time as at the ramen stall, Naruto had woken up around this time in order to get ready. And even though he had been away from the shop for a while and had no need to wake up so early, he still did. The blond had done it for so long that it had started to become second-nature, something he still did on a daily basis.

Blinking rapidly as he winked the grogginess out of them, his eyes finally stayed open long enough for him to see his little sister still on his bed, still lying atop his arm, her tiny frame rising and falling gently. A small smile played at Naruto's face as he watched at his younger sister sleep, an opportunity he didn't really get to have in the past. After a bit of struggling, his other arm managed to snake itself out of her sleeping grasp and reached up to pet the charcoal-black hair that sat on her head.

As he toyed with her hair, his mind started to wander about it's colour. Naruto had heard it countless times in the past. About why Lucy had black hair when no one else in the family did. Usually he answered the question with an amused smile and a waggle of his eyebrows. Normally it left people confused, as if the air of mystery that surrounded his sister's black hair was something amusing to him.

Some people debated that Naruto did not even know, or that she might have been adopted, or perhaps even a product of an extramarital affair, yet not a single whisper was brought up to Naruto. No one dared to say such a thing to the guy who had a black-belt in Taekwondo and whatever colour belts or trophies he had for his other martial arts. That and also because Naruto was arguably one of the nicest people in school, and no one wanted to be rude to the guy who offered to help anyone with anything.

Naruto did, in fact, know why his sister's hair was coloured this way. And it wasn't much of a secret in the family either. It was simply due to hair dye. A simple pack of hair dye that he normally got for her when they went out to shop.

That kind of answer wouldn't satisfy most people — hence Naruto's air of secrecy regarding the topic. Still, seeing the faces of his befuddled questioners was something Naruto just couldn't help but find humour in. Wasn't their business to stick their noses in his Lucy's business.

But the reasoning behind his sister's need to colour her hair was something he didn't find much humour in. The story of why she wanted to dye her hair was a story for another time. Naruto didn't exactly like her colouring her hair but he respected her choices and agreed to help her dye it whenever he could. Thankfully she didn't have to use bleach, otherwise, it would have been a firm no from her oldest brother.

With a low sigh at that distant memory, Naruto brushed it aside and returned to absently toying with Lucy's hair.

The black curtains that normally kept her eyes hidden had been swept aside and showed a pair of closed eyes that had a light dusting of freckles at the corner of her eyes. A trait she shared with a few of her siblings. Against her pale, milky skin, the freckles were incredibly obvious. It did make her look cute. Shame about her hiding her eyes though, Naruto did enjoy how adorable she had looked with them exposed. Lucy always looked like a silver doe with how large and wide they were.

One might have thought of Naruto as some kind of secret sis-con, and they would be right no matter how much Naruto denied it. His red face never did help his cause.

As he continued to let his mind wander, a small yawn escaped his lips and Naruto felt the wave of sleep hit him. There was still a few hours to school, right? And a short nap did sound rather good…

Soon, he found himself cuddling up next to his sister and hugging her lightly as his mind slipped back to the world of dreams.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Naruto's door opened by a crack and a head of short brown hair popped inside.

"Aw, dangit." Luna muttered softly at the sight of Lucy already in Naruto's bed. _"I was too bloody late! Maybe next time…"_ With a low accented grumble, her head slipped back out and she retreated back to her room quietly, a notebook in hand.

And here she was hoping to play a song she wrote with the guitar Naruto kept in his closet! Now she had to postpone the concert she was going to play him!

* * *

"Ugh, great." Lori groaned as she stepped away from the door, "I literally put in the effort to know all the timings and days he stays in bed and someone's already in my spot. This is so annoying." Whipping out her phone, she began to tap into it furiously, her eyes rolling as she strolled down the hallway back to her own room.

* * *

"So that's where you were, Little Miss Doom and Gloom." Lynn scoffed at her younger sister and room-mate sleeping in Naruto bed. No wonder she was missing from the room when Lynn checked up on her earlier. She balled her hand into a fist and slammed the base of it into her palm, clicking her tongue. "Whatever. Tomorrow no one'll beat me there! I'll be the first!"

Lynn wasn't the most competitive for _just_ sports in her family.

* * *

"A little bit late, ain'tcha?" Mr Coconut asked after a quick glimpse at the two sleeping in the bed.

"Quiet you." Luan shot back at her dummy, narrowing her eyes at him. "And don't think I don't know that you thought you would have been sleeping with us." Luan shut the door as she crept back to her room, "That would just be creepy."

"Aww…" Mr Coconut whined sadly, a rather eerie sight considering how unnerving what with his blank stare. "You're not the only one that's Coco- _nuts_ about him you know." Whether Mr Coconut was referencing her sisters, or merely just himself, Luan wasn't quite certain.

"Yeah, yeah." Luan clasped her hand over her doll's chattering mouth, "Clam it, nutcase."

* * *

"They're so cuuuute~!" Leni squealed as quietly as she possibly could at the sight of Naruto with his arms around Lucy. "Oh my gosh! I totes need a pic of this!" Whipping her phone out, Leni snapped a few pictures of the pair before slinking back out, giggling at the numerous images she had of them.

As the door shut, Leni, nor any of the other girls, managed to notice the tiny grin that Lucy had splayed out on her face.

 _"Suckers."_ The soft murmur fell on deaf ears and her grin soon vanished as the young Goth buried her face into her brother's chest, promptly returning back to sleep.

* * *

Chapter End

* * *

 _Sorry I've been away for so long. My health acted up during my short time as an intern and I fell into a small pit of depression with emotional breakdowns in front of my family, who thankfully supported me with the best they could through that turbulent time._

 _Obviously, I've lost the will to write and even now it's hard to say that I'll continue on with it. You have no idea how many times I've tried to continue with the rest of my stories, but stop short and give up when I'm a quarter in with a chapter. It's not that hard to explain how much you love something but just can't act on it. I'm sure many of you understand how that feels._

 _But writing this chapter did fill me with a bit of happiness, but I'm not going to be too optimistic and promise you another chapter anytime_ _soon. Or ever for that fact._ _Life's been a hassle and it's going to be much more busy from now onwards. But I do sincerely hope I can start to write again, and enjoy it._

 _Please write a review! Short, long, chatty or brief, I'll read 'em all! Tell me your thoughts and ideas! It doesn't even have to be related to the story. I just love reading what people leave behind on_ _my stories._

 _PS. Is it just me, or are there less and less_ _updates from FF authors nowadays? I wonder if everyone is feeling the same way, or just busy with life._


	4. Maybe Knock A Little Harder Next Time

_Hey all! I'm_ back with _a larger chapter. My messages are at the bottom as usual._

 _Without holding you back, please read, review and enjoy!_

* * *

Morning had rolled around and Naruto awoke slightly later than usual. Lucy had inexplicably vanished since the last time he was awake, and Naruto figured that she had simply returned to her room. Even with his frustratingly annoying headache and sleep still glazing his eyes, Naruto managed to find his way into the kitchen, where his mother and father were.

Rita was busy cooking up a storm. Bacon and eggs flew about in the pan for her dozen children while Lynn Sr. was busy reading through the morning paper and catching up on the news.

Lynn Sr. noticed Naruto first and lowered his paper, throwing a smile his son's way. "Hey there, kiddo! You doing alright?"

"Hey dad, hey mom. And yeah… I'm feeling alright." Naruto prodded the lump at the back of his head, still hidden behind some wraps, and hissed softly in pain, "Kind of. Just a bit of a headache, but I'm still ready to go to school."

Lynn Sr. stared at the clock that hung on the wall of the kitchen. "Uh, you've still got an hour, kiddo." He then continued after giving his son a quick once-over and pointed out the obvious. "And you're still in your pyjamas."

"Huh?" Naruto threw a glance down at his own clothes and groaned. With the way his head was acting up, he must have forgotten to take a shower which he was normally the first to reach.

"Oh right, right. I should probably get changed." Though now… Naruto cast a look up to the second floor, where he could hear his little sisters bickering over who was going to shower next. Judging by the sound of how many of them he could hear, it was probably a long line. In a family as large as his, lines for the toilet could take a while.

"Naruto, honey, you won't be going to school today." Rita spun around, hot pan in hand. With impressive swiftness unexpected in a woman of her age, she slipped two eggs with a side of bacon to a nearby plate. Dropping the pan off at the stove, she picked the plate up and made her way over to her son, steering him towards the breakfast table with a tender hand on his shoulder. Directing him to his seat, she placed the plate in front of him and filled the cup in front of him with a cool glass of orange juice.

"Thanks, mom. But — _whaaat_?" Naruto whined as his mother walked off to make more breakfast, "I'm fine to go to school, and more importantly, I _want_ to go to school!"

"You shouldn't even be out of bed, let alone heading off to school where your condition might worsen." His mother gave him a slight, worried frown, "If anything, you should be heading to the hospital to get your head checked." Then his mother clicked her tongue at the thought of the hospital, "But then again, that creepy doctor that always harrasses you is there."

"Dr. Stein is not creepy, mom. And I-" Naruto made a move to argue, but his father peered at him from over the newspaper with wide eyes and slowly shook his head as if to say — 'You're not going to win this one. Best give up now.'

"Alright… But I'm not going to the hospital! All they'd do is wrap my head up like Luan and Luna have done and slap me with a thousand dollar bill. I'll at least stay at home." With a sigh, he began to dig into his food, munching down into the bacon. Then he seemed to brighten up a bit as he hummed in delight. "Mmm, the food's good, mom. Thank you."

"Thank you, darling." Rita smiled kindly at her eldest and quickly dished out another eleven plates of food. Once done, she began to wash the pan, speaking to her son as she did. "Why are you so insistent on going to school anyway?"

His dad nodded, sipping from his cup without looking up from the paper. "Most kids would rather not. I mean, a day off is practically celebrated."

"I mean, not when I'm so close to flunking out of school." Naruto groaned as he chewed his bacon roughly, "You guys know how badly I'm doing, and I really don't want to miss out on any more lessons." Then he blinked before shooting glances to both of his parents, "Speaking of which you guys seem pretty nonchalant about me failing my classes and dropping out, which is slightly worrying."

Rita wiped the pan and set it aside before facing her son, a look of apprehension on her face as if she was trying not to bring the subject up. "Well… I suppose that your father and I are unconcerned about your grades mostly because…" His mother trailed off before Naruto had to prompt her.

"Because…?"

His father nearly choked on his coffee at that. "Because, uh, we don't think that you'll be short of a job when you get out! Isn't that right, dear?"

"Yep. And I do hear that ramen shop's trying to recruit you back into their ranks. Mr Teuchi, was it?" His mother chuckled at that, "You left quite the impression on him!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at that. His parents were definitely hiding something from him, and that left him rather disappointed since he figured that he was already old enough to be considered as an adult.

"Yeah, I guess." Still, if they weren't ready to talk to him about it, he would wait. His parents weren't fools by any measure, no matter how naive they sounded sometimes. They had to have some reason why they were keeping this topic a secret from him.

Deciding to drop it, Naruto slumped back into his chair, still somewhat worried about dropping out of school. While he might not have performed well in regards to the academics, Naruto did excel well on the physical side. With almost as many clubs as his sporty younger sister, Naruto had consistently won trophy after trophy for his school. As a club member of Judo, Taekwondo, Karate, Baseball, Football, Basketball and, strangely enough, even Table Tennis, Naruto knew his fair share of trophies.

People wondered why Naruto still fretted over grades when he excelled in almost all of the sports previously listed —and even more that he just didn't join the clubs of— since he was bound to get scouted. But Naruto found himself weary of the idea of going pro in any sport. The last thing he'd need is to get himself hurt in some stupid manner as usual and costing himself a scholarship. With nothing to fall back on, he'd end up screwing his family and himself. And he did not like the idea of that.

Not to mention the idea of competitively playing a sport for years would probably end up burning up his love of the sport.

As Naruto polished off the rest of his breakfast, he silently went through what he was supposed to do today. _'Speaking of… I'd better text Marco and tell him that I won't be able to make it tonight.'_

Shortly after that though, the rest of the Loud siblings began to pour into the kitchen, one after the other. Every single one of them went over to check on Naruto before engaging in breakfast, already dressed up and ready for school. Naruto stayed back for a bit after his meal to spend a little time with them.

"Thanks for last night, Lucy." Naruto smiled at the young Goth, "It was fun to have a séance." The Goth nodded, and though her face was bare of any emotion, there seemed to be a ghost of a smile on her face.

"A séance? What for?" Lynn asked, prodding her fried egg with her fork.

"Um…" Naruto frowned a little, remembering why they had done it in the first place. And after sharing a quick glance with Lucy, he decided that it was best his sisters didn't need to know about the ghost his sister said haunted them. "The spirit of… uh, Bruce Lee? You know how much I love those moves of his."

Lynn stared at him with a piercing gaze, her eyes drilling into Naruto's defences and observing his still visage for any breaches. Then, almost as sudden as she had begun her assault, she pulled back. Kicking her feet up onto the table and leaning back in her seat, the jock slurped at her juice.

"Yeah, that seems like a reasonable answer. I'd do the same."

Lori, who seated next to Naruto, looked away from her phone for a minute and stared at her sister's feet, placed next to her food. "Ugh. Feet off the table, you gremlin. That is literally so gross."

"As gross as… your boyfriend?" Lynn made a face that made it seem as though she had just found the ultimate insult to her older sister, whose face was now twisted in confusion.

Naruto blinked and stared at Lori, "Ho? You have a boyfriend?" He smiled slightly, cocking a brow at her, interested in the topic. "This is a first. Who is it?"

"What?! No, it's no one!" Lori felt her cheeks burn and she turned away from Naruto and back to Lynn, who was grinning victoriously at her. The younger jock fired an imaginary gun her way, and Lori felt her blood pressure spike. "And that doesn't even make any sense! I don't even have a boyfriend!"

"Oh? And just _who_ are you texting all this time?"

At Naruto's expectant look, Lori felt herself nearly crushing her phone in her grip.

"No one important…" Lori trailed off, her anger slowly fizzling off as she collected herself. She gave a quick look to her brother and Leni, who seemed to be trying to figure out how to eat her breakfast, before rolling her eyes. "Just… Just an old friend of ours, that's all!"

Lynn shrugged at that and got her feet off the table. As much as she liked pushing Lori's buttons, she didn't want her sister getting a stroke over a bit of teasing.

Luan ignored her sisters and leaned in close, interested in the topic of a séance. "So did you guys succeed?"

Naruto scratched his temple, trying to remember as best as he could what had happened last night. "Well, I'm pretty sure we made contact…"

His sisters made sounds of awe and interest. "Ooooh…"

"…But I can't quite remember how it all went down. Just Lucy and I holding hands and then falling asleep." He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Naruto then looked at his séance partner last night for help, "Lucy? Any thoughts? I'm sure you remembered something."

"Nope." Lucy shook her head, her black tresses following suit. "Didn't meet any ghosts. Just fell asleep next to Naruto."

The rest of his siblings groaned at that. Although Lori, Luan, Luna and Lynn all groaned for a different reason. While Leni showed her fondness for how adorable the scene that she had stumbled upon had been with an endearing squeak.

Naruto chuckled at their responses before checking the time. They didn't have long before they needed to head off to school, thus Naruto decided that it was about time that he took his leave.

"Mom, let me help with cleaning up." The blond said as he stood.

"Oh no, dear. It's fine." She shooed her son off with a soft smile. She definitely raised her eldest right. "I'll handle the dishes, you'd best get back to bed."

"Right. Thanks, mom." He pecked his mother lightly on the cheek. "Bye mom, bye dad. Bye guys, see you all later!" Hoping that he could rid the pounding in his head soon, Naruto snagged an Advil on the way up to his room, giving his family one last wave goodbye.

As the family returned Naruto's farewell, Lincoln watched as his brother vanished up the stairs. Glancing towards the camera, the white-haired kid rubbed his chin in thought. "I hope he's alright. I still feel pretty bad about it. I can probably make him a Get Well Soon card at school. Speaking of school, I'd better get going!"

Lincoln grabbed his bag and raced out of the door, behind his sisters, hoping to make it to school in time.

* * *

Naruto awoke a few hours later at the feeling of something lapping at his face, leaving behind a thick, viscous substance on his cheek.

"Huh? Wha-?" Jerking upright, the blond swiped the substance off his cheek with the back of his palm. Cracking open his eyes, Naruto caught sight of Charles by his bed, the tiny dog's tongue hanging out of his mouth and appearing quite worried. "What's wrong, boy? You don't usually come into my room."

Charles barked in response, albeit softly, as if trying not to draw attention to himself. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of that, but he shrugged and figured that perhaps his family had just shut the door to the backyard and Charles just wanted to pee. Grabbing the bathrobe that hung at the back of his door, Naruto slipped it over his shirt and boxers and headed down the stairs.

He had just made it down to the foot of the stairs when he heard the distinct sound of the fridge being opened, the glass jars of condiments rattling against each other as the door swung to the side. Understandably, Naruto felt slightly on edge as he could not recall anyone of his family members still being at home. If this was an intruder of some kind then Naruto was in trouble.

Normally, he would have been able to take down a grown man without much hassle. But with his head still hurting, albeit in a much better state now thanks to the Advil, he knew he was at a disadvantage.

Hell, just the thought of going up against someone was making him weak in the knees. He might have had numerous wins against some of the best in their age-group, but those had all be regulated fights. Naruto didn't know if this intruder was armed, and if they were, it would be bad news for him.

He could have chosen not to act now and go upstairs to hide, but Naruto didn't think that this person was going to stay on the ground floor for long. And since he knew that they were still rummaging through the fridge since the door had yet to be closed, Naruto wanted to get the jump on them. Bundling up his nerves and gathering his bravery, Naruto turned the corner and lunged without hesitation…

…Only for time to crawl at what, or rather who, he saw.

There, standing at the door of the fridge, was a young girl in a deep purple hoodie. Light brown skin and jet-black hair that had been bundled up into a ponytail, she looked to be about the same age as Lincoln. The girl clearly had not expected anyone to be at home, judging by the terrified look on her face. Either that or she was just scared at the sight of a large blond teen in the midst of silently pouncing on her — which, granted, was a terrifying sight indeed.

It took every ounce of control Naruto had over his body to tighten his muscles and freeze his actions in the air, causing his momentum to stop abruptly. Naruto stopped just short of the girl and the open fridge, narrowly avoiding a huge disaster.

His arm above the girl and against the freezer portion of the fridge, Naruto stared down at the girl with relief, confusion and a slight tinge of anger in his eyes. Their faces were close enough that Naruto could feel her ragged, terrified breaths brushing against his nose.

"H-Hello…" The girl said meekly, her eyes wide as saucers.

Naruto's response was simply a low growl and a baring of his teeth as he stared down the poor girl.

* * *

Now standing in the living room, the youth was flanked by Naruto, who kept a keen eye on her movements lest she tried anything. Though, judging by the way her hands nervously shook, she wouldn't dare to.

Naruto gestured to the couch, "Please, sit. I insist." The girl obediently did as she was told and hurried over to the couch, while Naruto positioned himself across from her in the recliner. Naruto had calmed himself from the incident that had occurred earlier.

"So… should we talk about how you scared my dog?" Naruto asked as he stared at the young girl that was currently made to sit on the couch. "Oh, and maybe also about you breaking into my house." Two buck teeth poked out of her upper lip as she gave Naruto a nervous smile.

"Well," She coughed into her hand awkwardly. "It was more like no one answered the door… _aaaand_ so then I let myself in."

"Maybe knock a little harder next time. Or better yet, maybe use the doorbell?" Naruto muttered in disbelief before he jabbed a thumb at the far wall, where a window was left suspiciously ajar. "So I'm just gonna assume that you let yourself in through the window."

"Yeah… Sorry about that." The youth's chagrined look made Naruto sigh. It was the same type of face the younger bunch of his siblings would pull on him when he caught them in the act of causing trouble.

Still, a sad puppy-dog face was no excuse for committing actual breaking and entering.

"So, how about we get to know each other?" The girl was obviously hesitant to give up her information, and rightly so. She probably didn't want to end up in Juvie, and neither did Naruto want that to happen. A promise that she wouldn't do something this foolish ever again was a win in his book. Besides, he could imagine one of his sisters or brother in her shoes doing something like this for some stupid reason, and he'd want the victim to give them a second chance too.

"You can relax. I know you didn't take anything and I forgive you. But you also have to make sure never to do something this stupid ever again."

The girl's buck teeth bit down on her lip. "You promise?"

"Promise." Naruto held up both his hands, with one drawing a cross over his heart, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Seeing that Naruto had promised her that much, the girl felt much more at ease. "Um… My name is Ronnie Anne Santiago. I'm eleven… and I, er, have an older brother?"

"Well nice to meet you, Ronnie Anne. I'm Naruto Loud, eighteen, eldest of the Loud children and I'm from Royal Oaks High School."

"Oh, well, I'm from the same school as Lincoln." Ronnie Anne coughed, "Y'know, Royal Oaks Elementary."

Naruto's eyes widened up slightly and a short laugh escaped his curled lips. "Oh, that explains it. You're in love with my brother."

"Wh-What?!" Ronnie Anne's mouth hung ajar as she stared at Naruto, her eyes about as wide as her gaping mouth. "How'd you know-? I mean- Dangit!" Naruto had to stifle a laugh at how flushed her face was getting.

"I mean, I was just joking but you seem to have revealed yourself." Naruto had a full-blown grin at the reaction he had received from the young girl. She didn't have to make a sound to let Naruto know that she was internally screaming. "You did go through the trouble of breaking into our house. Maybe to get some dirt on him to tease him with?" Naruto laughed as he headed into the kitchen, "Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Milk? Water?"

It took a second but Ronnie Anne managed to compose herself, shaking her head in shame at being called out on her crush on Lincoln, by his older brother no less. "No thanks."

Naruto vanished for a minute in order to grab some warm tea, while Ronnie Anne stayed in her seat, glancing about the living room. Numerous photos were framed, some on the walls and others on the mantle of the fireplace. Most were group photos of the large family while others were simply of the kids hanging out together. Ronnie Anne could tell from the pictures that Naruto was obviously loved his family and that his family felt the same way about him.

She sniggered at the sight of some of the photos of Lincoln. There was one where he was a tiny baby, tufts of white hair poking out from the top of his bald head, dressed in an orange jumper. He was giving a toothless grin to the camera as he climbed atop his brother's head, tugging at the young blond's spiky hair. Naruto, although appearing in quite a bit of pain, still managed a pained smile at his younger brother's enthusiasm. Then there was another picture of a nine-year-old Lincoln, this time riding a bicycle with one of his sisters beside him, and Naruto standing far off in the background looking quite proud of his younger brother.

As she was looking through the pictures, Naruto returned, a mug of warm tea in hand and a plate of cookies in the other. Glancing over her shoulder to take a peek at what she was looking at, Naruto cracked a smile at that particular picture.

"I remember that day. Lincoln's first time riding the bicycle without needing any help. It was all laughs and smiles from him until Lynn, his sister, knocked him into a tree." Setting the cookies on the table, Naruto returned to his seat.

"Anyway, should you be skipping school for something as trivial as a crush?" Naruto asked with a stern voice, but the slight smirk that came after gave him away. "Granted, it's a crush on my little brother — so I am a little excited for him. But your grades are still pretty important."

Ronnie Anne shrugged as she took a cookie, now feeling much more comfortable in Naruto's presence. If he was cool with her sticking around and was even nice enough to get her cookies, then he was more than okay in her book.

"According to the school, I should be at home, sick and in-bed resting. But skipping a day isn't gonna cause me any trouble. I'll have you know that despite my 'troublemaker' look, I'm a straight-A student." Naruto's smile seemed to widen at that little bit of information.

"Good." The boy muttered, his lips spread out against his the rim of his cup before lowering it. "As much as I cherish him, my brother isn't exactly the brightest star out there. So I wouldn't want my brother dating someone who's failing grades like he is." Though it was ironic that Naruto was one to talk about failing grades. "Plus, I think it'd be nicer if he could go on dates with his girlfriend to the library and have her tutor him or something." Naruto chuckled after a brief thought. Ronnie Anne rolled her eyes at that, but the light dusting of colour on her freckled cheeks told Naruto that she rather fancied the idea.

"And you seem to be the type who wears the pants in the relationship, so I figure you could smack some sense into him if he tries something dumb."

The young brunette's eyes turned to narrow slits as she stared at Naruto. Said blond wondered if he had said the wrong thing. But before he knew it the young girl lost her current look and replaced it with a laxer one. "You know, Naruto, I'm liking you more and more by the minute."

Naruto simply raised his mug to the girl in salute, managing an amused smile. "Same to you."

They fell into a momentary silence before Naruto picked the conversation back up again, "Say, now that I've gotten a good look at you, I feel like I've seen you before."

"Yeah, I know a bit about you too actually." Ronnie Anne said between bites of her cookie. "Before you formally introduced yourself, of course."

"You do?" Naruto asked inquisitively, "Where from?"

"Your community classes. Sometimes I come by to watch."

"You're a fan of martial arts?"

"I guess you could say I'm a fan of being able to kick ass. Thanks to you, I've learned a thing or two from watching that have come in handy in the past." Ronnie Anne said vaguely as she started to work on another cookie, "Also to support my cousin."

Naruto furrowed his brow at that as he began to compare her looks to one of his most obedient and loyal students. The previously aforementioned Marco. "Your cousin wouldn't happen to be Marco Diaz, would he?"

"What gave that away? The fact that he's the only other Latino there?" She said with a wry smile, and Naruto shrugged.

"That might have been a giveaway, yes." Naruto chuckled before he glanced towards the clock, "Huh, look at the time. It's almost two. My sisters and brother should be coming back any minute now."

At the mention of his brother, Ronnie Anne seemed to stand in a hurry, "Then I should probably take my leave. It's been nice chatting with you, Naruto. We should hang out some more next time." Then she threw him a glance, "And please don't tell Lincoln I was here."

"Thanks. You too, Ronnie Anne." Naruto chuckled, "And don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. _Buuuut_ you _could_ stay for a few more minutes y'know."

"No, it's fine." She protested vehemently.

"I'm sure Lincoln would want to-" Before Naruto could say anything else, Ronnie Anne was already leaping out of the open window she had entered from. Naruto didn't stop her, merely watching as the girl landed in a bush before picking herself up and running off into the distance. The blond's nose twitched as he sniffed slightly before taking a small sip of his drink.

"Heh… I'll take that as a 'no'."

* * *

Chapter End

* * *

Authors Notes: Sorry if you found the first part of the chapter a bit clunky and stuffy. I found it a little hard to write sometimes and it shows, but I'm trying to refine my writing as best as I can and I'll accept any positive constructive criticism head-on!

PS: I forget to add this in after uploading, but ** _there will be other appearances of characters from different shows as well._** (Any guesses?) Nothing that should bring about alarm as they will most likely just be cameos. Believe it or not, I had it already planned about the same time Mumei revealed minor crossovers in their own fic. I just didn't get to put mine into action until now since I've been gone so long.

 _ **And no, Jackie will not be with Naruto! Nor Star!**_

But besides that, I'd just like to give a sincere thank you to every single person who left a review in the last chapter wishing me well. It really made my day when I woke up and went through the numerous reviews that supported and understood what I was going through.

Anyone who is going through the same emotions should not feel ashamed to share how they feel, and crying isn't something that makes you weak. Just know that even half-way across the world, someone, a complete stranger, is willing to hear you out and ready to listen to you vent.

Once again, you all have my thanks and I wish you all the best in whatever you do. You can get knocked down, and you can stay down, but just remember to pick yourself back up and dust yourself off once it's over, with the knowledge that you've overcome that obstacle.

Take care, and, like, drink lots of water and stuff.

 **(This next part is just a short explanation if you were curious about what happened in my life)**

Someone mentioned that I should take a break and learn cooking, which left me chuckling since I was actually in culinary school during the last year and a half. Going through the internship was actually the reason for my depression since the working conditions and hours were just plain hellish, especially for someone with so many health conditions. Let's just say eczema and severe flat feet do not go well with that. The intense heat, stressful environment and long 12-hour shifts with only one 45 minute break left swollen rashes across 70% of my body and mentally broke me.

Whenever I was at work and I went to the toilet, whether or not it was to change, I'd open up my uniform, look at my reflection and start to tear up and cry. I asked myself why I was so weak and pathetic and would have to pull myself together to get back to work. I know it seems petty and trivial, but seeing my eczema, which had been plaguing me for over a decade, worsen to such a point just left me in shambles.

Any chef out there working this kind of life has my respects.

Of course, all is better now thanks to a fantastic doctor I was introduced to, but I'm still itching here and there.

And some of you might be wondering why I chose to even spend time, or even consider it a waste, to have gone and learnt cooking. But I'm glad I did. I know how to make a decent meal for myself, and a little bit more, and I can now fully appreciate food placed in front of me, just knowing what people behind the scenes are going through.

But that's all for now. I'll see you all when I see you!


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